Rose blooms again at Brandeis

The Rose Art Museum reopened last night as some 200 visitors viewed the largest collection of contemporary art in New England nine months after Brandeis University trustees decided to sell the works.

Ariel Wittenberg/Daily News correspondent

The Rose Art Museum reopened last night as some 200 visitors viewed the largest collection of contemporary art in New England nine months after Brandeis University trustees decided to sell the works.

Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz said last night's event acts both as a celebration of the museum and as an affirmation that, as he put, "The Rose is open."

The exhibit, which shows works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall and many others, was divided into six sections showcasing six different styles of art.

While the museum itself is open, the question of what will happen to its art is yet unanswered, with Malcolm Sherman, head of the Brandeis Board of Trustees, refusing to comment on that board's intentions last night.

University Provost Marty Krauss agreed with Reinharz, saying "The Rose is saved, that's the headline for this event."

Nine months ago Brandeis decided it would close the Rose and sell the collection to deal with its financial crisis. Brandeis at the time was reeling from the recession, with Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Peter French estimating the Brandeis endowment was headed for a 35 percent loss. Since then, that loss has been pegged at 17 percent.

Three benefactors of the museum are currently seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the sale of artwork they donated. The case will be tried in Suffolk Probate Court on June 29. The Attorney General's office has also opened up an investigation into the university and its potential decision to sell the art.

Visitors at the exhibit were greeted by Brandeis' fine Arts majors, who distributed free buttons saying "Save the Rose."

"We are here to show how students do support the museum and to make sure that it stays open, and that the administration and the Board of Trustees knows that closing the museum or selling its art is not OK," Brandeis junior Emily Leifer said as she distributed the buttons.

Administrators present at the opening, however, were less than pleased with the buttons Leifer and her colleagues disseminated. President Reinharz's wife, Shula, approached the students and said, "If you want to keep doing something damaging to the university and the museum, then keep doing what you're doing."

"They are misguided," Shula Reinharz later said. "They should be saying 'I support The Rose.' The Rose has already been saved."

Krauss said she was pleased with the number of students who attended. "When I saw the crowd tonight, tears came to my eyes that so many students would be here in support of the museum," Krauss said.

Rose family members were also present at the Museum's reopening. While Meryl Rose, the family member engaged in the legal battle with the university over the museum, did not show up, Brandeis alumnae Francine Koslow Miller, Class of '73, was.

Miller is the author of a book about the university's handling of the issue entitled "The Rape of The Rose." She handed out pamphlets on a reading of her book next month.

Yet while the night was full of players in the Rose's future, for Brandeis sophomore Sophie Krupp who has been to multiple Rose exhibits, the opening was just an opportunity to see the museum's permanent collection.

"I really love it, the art is just great," she said. "This exhibit feels different from the others because so many people turned out to see the collection."